Urinal carrier



s- 1942. w. E. P. CIOLLINS HAL. 2,292,055

URINAL CARRIER Filed June 1, 1939 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTORS H/ML/A/Y 7? (aux/vs Patented Aug. 4, 1942 4 URINAL CARRIER William E. P. Collins and William Bernard, New York, N. Y., assignorsto. Lenox Hill Hospital, a corporation of New York Application June 1, 1939, Serial No. 276,774

8 Claims. (Cl. 224-48) This invention is in a carrier for urinal ves sels.

Urinals are usually made of a material like glass and in that form are usually used in hospitals; in the course of such use, according. to past and current practice, numerous disadvantages and trouble are incurred, particularly in the handling of them, such as in collection, distribution and identification thereof. Breakage also occurs in large measure. It is an object of this invention to overcome such disadvantages of, prior practice as those noted above and to provide for safe, convenient and efiicient handling of urinals.

Another object is to provide a carrier that will be of simple and inexpensive construction and well adapted for the safe and dependable carriage of the peculiarly shaped and propor tioned urinal vessels. Another object is to. provide a. carrier which will be strong and durable, easy to carry and handle and which will dependably protect and safeguard the urinal vessels which as above noted are usually made of a breakable material like glass. Another object is to provide a carrier in which a number of urinal vessels may be compactly accommodated for carriage and yet dependably protected against collision with each other. Another object is to provide for dependable and simple identification of or distinguishing between the various urinal vessels to be handled.

Another object is to provide a urinal carrier that will not be unsightly in appearance or awkward to handle and that will be easy to keep clean and sanitary. Another object is to provide a covered carrier for urinal vessels that will be of dependable and simple construction and, though covered, will not. detrimentally interfere with facility and efiiciency of handling of the vessels. Other objects will be in part obvious or in part pointed out hereinafter.

The invention accordingly consists in the features of construction, combinations of elements, and arrangements of parts as will be exemplified in the structure to be hereinafter described and the scope of the application of which will be indicated in the following claims.

In the accompanying drawings, in which are shown several of the various possible embodiments of our invention,

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the carrier without the cover;

Figure 2 is a central vertical sectional view, as seen along the line 22 of Figure l but showing the carrier with the cover in place and with one urinal vessel related thereto;

Figure 3 is a perspective view like that of Figure 1 showing another illustrative embodiment of our invention, and

Figure 4' is aplan view on a smaller scale of the cover.

Similar reference characters refer to similar parts throughout the several views in the drawings.

cated at It in Figure 2; and accordingly the above-mentioned carrier parts are preferably proportioned to take the urinals in two rows, one to each side of the longitudinal axis, of three urinals each, and we hence preferably provide an upstanding central partition ll; fitted within and secured to the end walls ll, I2 and bottom l5 in any suitable way. Thus, we provide two compartments one to each side of the partition 11.

Referring now to Figure 2, urinal 16 comprises a main body or container portion it with a flat bottom ItP, opposed to which, and hence somewhat on the top side of the container portion it is a handle It, a neck-like part [5 extending from the container portion lb in the usual way. As is current or prior practice, the attendant usually tries to carry two or more such vessels by the fingers of one hand, interlocking the fingers with thehandles, the bulbous container partions IB contact each other or are banged together with resultant breakage or danger of breakage, and additionally there is the risk of confusion ofidentification of the vessels with the patients being served. According to our invention, such disadvantages and dangers we dependably eliminate.

Preferably, We give each compartment a length materially greater than the aggregate width of the number of vessels to be accommodated therein so that, in the preferred arrangement, the sides of the urinal vessel (if the compartment is to receive only one) do not engage the end walls or so that, where more than one vessel is to be received. in each compartment, there is ample space for clearance between adjacent urinals and between the end walls and the adjacent sides of the end urinals.

As for the transverse dimension of each compartment, a preferred relationship is like that shown in Figure 2". With the member I! extending upright and hence at right angles to the plane of the bottom 15, the side walls [3, l4, opposed to the member [1, are preferably inclined upwardly and away from the member I! and the spacing is preferably such that, as is better shown in Figure 2, an inserted urinal Hi, When put in position with its flat bottom I6 resting flat against one face of the wall member I'I, falls short of bottoming in the compartment, thus to keep its lowermost end, when in the position of Figure 2, out of contact with the bottom I5 of the carrier. In this relationship, with the container portion I6 of the urinal substantially wedgeshaped throughout its lower half portion, there may take place a wedge-like seating of the vessel into the angle between the walls I3 and I! and a suspension of the vessel by the latter.

The handle I6 (Figure 2) of the vessel forms, in a general way, an upward extension of the wedge-like shape of the lower end half of the container portion Hi and preferably the handle I6 takes part in the above-described wedge-like support of the vessel between the opposed walls of the compartment, and for this purpose a portion of each side wall, one portion for each urinal vessel to be accommodated, is bent, pressed or otherwise deformed or shaped to extend outwardly, somewhat in the form of a spout, as indicated at I8. The outermost portion of. the formation I8 is preferably at such an angle that the usually slight curvature of the handle I6 is tangent thereto, somewhat in the same manner in which the plane of the side wall I3 is inclined and tangent to the curvature of the container portion IIi all as seen in Figure 2.

Thus, the handle I6 accommodated in the formation I8, may act with the flat bottom IIi' as the opposed sides or faces of the wedge-shaped entity to be received in the angle between the wall I! and the outermost portion of the formation I8. Preferably, it is these parts and their coactions that We utilize to sustain the weight of the vessel I6,

In dimension lengthwise of the carrier each formation I8 is just about sufficient to freely receive in the space between the wall portions It! and I8 (Figure I) of the formation I8 the handle I6 but preferably with only such play so that the coaction between the handle I6 and the spaced parts I8 and I8 holds the vessel It against tilting out of its intended upright position, as in Figure 2.

As above indicated, the formations may be made integrally with the respective opposed side walls I3, I4, or they may be separately formed and, after cutting out substantially U-shaped slots along the upper edges of the side walls, they may be secured in any suitable way to the latter along the edges of the U-shaped' slots. In either case, whether separately or integrally formed, the upper edges of the side walls I3, I I will be seen to be provided with what are in effect U-shaped recesses or slots I8, but as above indicated, we prefer to provide members I8 for laterally extending these slots. If only slots I8 are employed, good results are still achievable, each slot receiving a handle and coacting to hold the vessel against displacement or tilting. The employment of members I8, however, has certain advantages already indicated above, including also better protection against breakage of the handles themselves. These parts also act to locate and hold each vessel in its allocated portion of each compartment, preventing movement of one vessel toward the other or tilting or movement of one vessel into engagement with a neighboring one or into engagement with an end wall, such as wall II or wall I2. Also, rotary movement of the vessel about a vertical axis, as viewed in Figure 2, is dependably prevented, the backing for the bottom thereof provided by the partition member I! also aiding in this action.

The height of the side walls I3, I lor of the upper edges of the handle-receiving formations I8, is such that a substantial portion of the handle I6 projects upwardly therefrom, thus permitting ease of insertion or removal of the vessels.

The wall member I'I, however, is preferably extended upwardly preferably beyond the height of the urinal vessels and preferably above the height of the latter is provided with suitable means for receiving and holding an identification card or like indicia, one for each of the compartment spaces allocated to the urinal vessels. These means may take any suitable form, for example, a plurality of tongues I9 cut or pressed out of the sheet metal of the wall I! to form bottom and side supports for cards indicated in Figures 1 and 2 at 20. Similar tongues are cut and stamped outwardly of the other face of the wall I! so that cards 20 may be received and held thereby, and again one for each of the spaces allocated to the vessels on that side of the central partition member II,

The member I'I preferably is provided with a handle, as at 2| (Figures 1 and 2), preferably midway along its length, and handle 2| may be formed out of the sheet metal of the part I! itself. Handle 2I thus permits the carrier to be manually carried and preferably it serves also to position and hold a cover. In Figure 4 we have shown the cover at 23 on a smaller scale and it may be made of any suitable flexible sheet material, such as cloth, rubberized material, or the like, and along its central longitudinal axis it is provided with a slit 24 of the same length as the length of handle 21. Cover 23 may thus be draped over the top edge of the partition II with the handle 2| projecting through the slit 24 which thus holds it against displacement while the upper and lower halves of the cover 23, as viewed in Figure 4, are of sufficient expanse to cover over the respective compartments and to drape over the upper edges of the end and side walls of the carrier, as is better indicated in Figure 2.

Accordingly, the assemblage may be easily carried, makes a neat and unobtrusive appearance, and yet the cover may be easily handled for purposes of removal or insertion of a vessel. For example, if the carrier is held in one hand, it is a simple matter to flip a suitable portion of the cover 23 over one end of the top edge of the partition member I1, thus to expose a suitable portion of one compartment. Also, the cover 23 may be easily removed for replacement, laundering, or the like.

Turning now to Figure 3, we have there shown in perspective a carrier 25 embodying certain features of our invention but made up of wire or wire parts suitably secured together. Thus, the carrier may comprise two U-shaped end members 26, 2'! having secured thereto adjacent their lower At suitably longitudinally spaced points U- shaped wire members 3|, illustratively four, as shown in Figure 3, may be provided tojoin the longitudinal sides of the closed frame wires 28, 29.

A central partitioning and handle means are preferably provided, preferably in the form of a relatively heavy closed wire member 32 whose lower portion 32 may be secured, as by welding, to the opposed ends of the frame wire 28 and also to the cross-portions of the U'-shaped wire members 3|, and also, where desired, to other cross-wires, suchas the wires 33 which may be bridged across and welded to the opposed longitudinal side portions of the frame wire 28.

In line with each pair of opposed U-shaped conformations 30, we preferably build up the central partitioning member to provide suitable por tions. in the plane thereof and'against which the flat bottom portions [6 (see Figure 2) of the urinal vessels It may rest. Illustratively, where there are three pairs. of opposed handle-receiving conformations 39, as in Figure 3, we provide three U-shaped wire members 34 whose lower ends are welded to the lower horizontal portion 32 of the member 32 and Whose upper portions are secured as by welding to the upper horizontal end portions 32 and 32 thereof, the intermediate member 34 having its upper end welded to a cross-wire 35 in line with the portions 32 and 32 where the member 32 is formed at its central upper portion into an upwardly directed handle portion 32 The vertical leg-like parts of the members 34 are preferably parallel and spaced apart by a distance less than the horizontal expanse of the bottom W of the urinal vessel I 6 (Figure 2), thus to insure that two opposed urinal vessels have their bottoms H5 held out of contact with each other and held dependably separated by these two spaced portions of the member 34.

If desired, these vertical portions of the members 34 may be suitably reinforced or tied together, for example, as by the horizontally extending w're 35 which extends across the vertical arms of the members 34, being secured there to and to the upright ends 32 and 32 of the member 32 in any suitable way, as by welding. Thus, these parts form a strong and dependable backing against which the bottom [3 (see Figure 2) of the urinal vessel 16 may rest flatwise with its handle portion [6 resting in the corresponding U-shaped conformation 30, the downward and inward inclination of the portion of the handle it contacted by the outermost part of the portion 30 acting preferably, in coaction with the bottom 16 to dependably hold the vessel in position with a wedge-like action. The portions 3i] and 33 of the conformation 30 act as stops to coact with the side portions of the handle 16 to hold the vessel against tilting toward one end or the other of the carrier; they also and preferably insure the positioning of the vessel within its allotted space in the carrier compartment and maintaining it thus against contacting an adjacent vessel. And like the parts [8 of Figures 1 and 2, these U-shaped conformations 30 are preferably of a height so that a substantial portion of the handle 16 projects upwardly therefrom so as to facilitate insertion or removal and act also as guides to guide the vessel properly into the carrier and with its fiat bottom portion l6 thus neatly guided into flatwise relation against the intended wire parts of the central partition-forming wire frame.

Thus, the vessel may be dependably'supported again in. a. wedge-like. space with the opposed portions of which the bottom I6 and the outer upwardly inclined portion of the handle l6 of the vessel coact. Preferably, also, the lowermost end of thevessel is free from engagement with any part of the carrier. This may be achieved by proportioning the parts, as was above described inconnection with Figure 2, or, by way of further example, by arranging thewires that are bridged across opposed parts of the rectangular wire member 28 so that the space directly underneath the lower end portion of the vessel I6 is free; this latter arrangement is also shown in Figure 3 in which the wire parts underneath each urinal that is positionable in the carrier are arranged in an open square, as at 31. Thus, the tip-like lower end of the vessel falls, in projection, within the four sides of a square 31 and hence may, as in the preferred case, be kept out of contact therewith. Or, if desired, the parts may be so proportioned that the lower tip-like portion. of the vessel may actually project downwardly through its underlying square 31 and, if desired, two or more of the sides of the square 31 may engage side portions of the vessel and thus coact with the other holding parts to support the vessel directly or to hold it against tilting.

We also prefer to provide the carrier with suitable standards so that when it is set down, as on a floor or table, the plane of the rectangular frame wire 28, through which the lower tapered ends of the vessels I6 may project, as above noted, each through its open square 31, is supported well above the plane of the floor or table, thus to protect the lower ends of the vessels. Such standards may be conveniently provided in the manner already above indicated, namely, by way of the lower portions of the U-shaped wire end members 26, 21 to which, as earlier above indicated, the wire member 28 is secured, as by welding, but at points spaced upwardly from the lower ends of the members 26, 21.

Again, we prefer to provide suitable means for supporting suitable identifying indicia, such as a card, one for each of the spaces allocated to the several vessels to be supported or carried. Thus, we may provide for each space and mount preferably in the plane of the central partitionforming means and preferably above the level of the upper ends of the inserted vessels a wire card holder, indicated at 38, and it may comprise a single wire bent to provide two upright leg portions 38 and 38 joined together by one and onehalf turns of the wire, thus exposing upwardly two loop-like wire parts between which a card may be pressed and yieldingly gripped, the springiness of the wire employed contributing toward this action.

These members 33 may be mounted in position in any suitable way, as by welding them in pairs, one on each side, to two horizontally extending wires 39, 40, which in turn extend across the upper end portions of the vertical parts of the U-shaped wires 34. Wires 39, 40 may thus additionally brace the parts 34 and at ends there of, such as the ends of wire 40, may be extended to be secured to the inclined portions 32 and 32 of the wire member 32, thus to reinforce the anchorage of the upper ends of the members 34 to the member 32. The above described illustrative shaping of the card supports 38 and mounting thereof also makes for attractiveness and neatness of appearance, it being noted that, as is better shown in Figure 3, the members 38 of each pair are alined with each other or juxtaposed to each other and in turn are centered and symmetrically shaped with respect to the members 34.

Wires of different thicknesses, strengths, or weights may be employed, according to the relationship of any particular wire part to others and to the strains and stresses to which it might be subjected. In Figure 3 illustrative differences in wire thicknesses are indicated.

The cover 23 of Figure 4 may be related to the carrier of Figure 3 in the manner above described in connection with Figures 1 and 2. The upwardly projecting handle portion 32 is received upwardly through the slit 24 of the cover 23, certain portions of which find support along the horizontal portions 32' and 32 and the remaining portions of which drape themselves over the four sides of the carrier, covering over such vessels as may be related to the carrier.

Thus, it will be seen that there has been provided in this invention a urinal carrier in which the various objects hereinbefore noted, together with many thoroughly practical advantages are successfully achieved. It will be seen that the construction is simple, inexpensive and lends itself readily to strong and durable fabrication. Dependable segregation and identification of vessels are achieved, sanitation improved, possibility of breakage greatly reduced, and greater efficiency of routine handling of urinal vessels in hospitals, and the like, made possible.

As many possible embodiments may be made of the above invention and as many changes might be made in the embodiment above set forth, it is to be understood that all matter hereinbefore set forth or shown in the accompanying drawings is to be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

We claim:

1. A carrier for urinal vessels that have a substantially fiat bottom with a handle extending away from the wall that is opposed to the bottom, said carrier comprising a receptacle having opposed end members and opposed side members with means forming a partition extending substantially centrally between said opposed side members, thereby to divide said receptacle into two compartments, said partition-forming means presenting substantially upright means having two sides respectively facing said opposed side members, said sides forming backings respectively for the reception thereagainst of the substantially fiat bottoms of upended urinal vessels received in said two compartments with their respective handles extending respectively toward said opposed side members, the latter each having means forming a seat for the reception thereagainst of the handles of the urinal Vessels received as aforesaid in said two compartments with their bottoms against the respective sides of 2. A urinal carrier as claimed in claim 1 in which said opposed side members are of sheet material and said seat-forming means are in the form of spout-like formations in said sheet material.

3. A urinal carrier as claimed in claim 1 in which said opposed side members are of a material like wire, said seat-forming means comprising substantially U-shaped conformations in said wire members.

4. A carrier for urinal vessels that have a substantially fiat bottom with a handle extending away from the wall that is opposite the bottom, said carrier comprising compartment-forming means having two opposed substantially parallel means provided with members for holding them in relatively fixed spaced relation by a distance commensurate with the dimension from the handle to the bottom of a urinal vessel, one of which means provides alined backings for the bottom portions of a plurality of urinal vessels upended and alined along said means with said substantially flat bottom portions engaging substantially flatwise against said backings and with the handles of said urinal vessels extending in a direction away from said one means and toward the other of said means, and means for holding said urinal vessels against tilting of their substantially fiat bottom portions out of flatwise engagement with their backings and in spaced relation from each other, said means comprising a plurality of means spaced along said other means, one for each urinal vessel, for respectively receiving the handles of the vessels inserted in said compartment.

5. A urinal carrier as claimed in claim 4 in which said other of said two means is of sheet material and the handle-receiving means comprise recesses in said sheet material.

6. A urinal carrier as claimed in claim 4 in which the other of said two opposed means is of sheet material and said handle-receiving means comprise a plurality of parts of sheet material each of substantiall U-shaped cross-section.

'7. A urinal carrier as claimed in claim 4 in which said other of said two opposed means comprises wire means and said handle-receiving means comprises substantially U-shaped conformations in said wire means.

8. A carrier for a urinal vessel that has a substantially flat bottom with a handle extending away from the wall that is opposite the bottom, the handle having an inclined portion that extends at an angle to the plane of the bottom with the apex of the angle directed toward that end of the vessel opposite its open end, said carrier comprising a receptacle having two opposed members, one of which extends substantially upright and is of an expanse suflicient to form a backing to receive thereagainst the substantially flat bottom of the upended vessel with the handle thereof extending in a direction away from said backing-forming member and toward the opposed member, the latter having substantially U-shaped means open toward said backing-forming member for receiving the handle of the vessel between the two arms of said U-shaped means and with said inclined portion of the bandle engaging the bottom part of said U-shaped means, whereby, by a wedge-like action, the substantially flat bottom of said vessel is held flatwise against said backing-forming member.

WILLIAM E. P. COLLINS. WILLIAM BERNARD. 

